Our handmade Yoshihiro Mizu Yaki Blue High Carbon Steel Black Damascus Kiritsuke Japanese Multipurpose Chef Knife are at the top of its class in performance. Mizu Yaki is a meticulous process of pure water quenching that draws out the hardness of refined steel while infusing enough resiliency to perform consistently in the most exacting of conditions. Damascus refers to the beautiful marbled wave like patterns that extend through the blade from the tip to the heel.

The Yoshihiro Mizu Yaki Kiritsuke Japanese Chef's Knife is a cross between a Yanagi and Usuba knife, or a knife for slicing fish and a knife for cutting vegetables. Its cutting edge is slightly straighter than a chef's knife, making it suited for chopping vegetables, but it holds a curve to the tip, which makes it good for slicing. In traditional mizu yaki manner, this knife was forged using water during the tempering process to make the steel harder. Crafted with a blue steel #2 (62-63 HRC) core, it has superior edge retention and ease of sharpening. Its traditional Japanese, rustic, black finish gives this knife an elegant look and feel. With its handcrafted rosewood handle and added damascus steel layering, this knife has a thicker spine than most, and is great for chefs who prefer a more durable, slightly heavier knife. Our Mizu Yaki Black forged Kurouchi knives are also complimented with a traditional Japanese style handcrafted Shitan wooden handle affixed with a rosewood bolster, and a protective wooden sheath called a Saya is included, which protects the knife and adds to its appearance when not in use.

Care & Sharpening:Traditional Japanese knife making values a sharp edge, which requires attention and care. Sharpening and honing should be done with only water whetstones. Hand wash and dry only, and do so immediately if working with acidic ingredients. Do not use on objects such as bones, nutshells, and frozen foods.

KNIFE CAN BE OXIDIZED WITHOUT PROPER CARE* RECOMMEND FOR PROFESSIONAL ONLY*

Customer Reviews

Absolutely wonderful knife!!!! It has a great fit and finish. Super sharp and durable. I use it as my main knife working in a kitchen 50-70 hours a week and it stands up to everything Ive put it through. I highly recommend this knife!!!

Was slightly disappointed in with this knife. I've purchased many of the hammered Damascus series and have the utmost respect for the quality of knives and thought I'd try out this series. There's definitely a weight difference as this one has more heft to it. Because of this, it felt more unbalanced in my hand holding, in addition, the slight displacement of the handle not being against the back of the blade also feels off.

The thickness of the blade is thicker than the priorly mentioned line making it harder to slice through foods. This knife would certainly work as a heavy duty meat cleaver.

I'm well aware that this is more of a personal review and just feel this series isn't a good fit for me. I'm sure it's suitable for others. The quality of the blade and the sharpness is still impeccable.

The cutlery arrived in a simple yet elegant packaging, I bought the version without the saya (sheath), wish I hadn't.. but enough about that, more about the knife!
The knife arrived very sharp and after a quick wash and it was ready to hit the chopping block. The knife is a gyuto, or general purpose knife, but due to it's weight and heft I have primary been using it for meats although the occasional vegetable shows up when I am too lazy to pull out the nakari or usaba. Do not use this on any bones mind you. as the blade profile and material are not suited for that task.

This is a very nice blade that holds it's edge very well with little maintenance due to it's high carbon steel. I am really enjoying the shape and bevel on this knife once I grew more accustom to it coming from western style knifes. The handle for me is another winner as I typically enjoy the asian style rounded handles most the time.

Please remember after every wash you should apply a thin coat of oil to the blade as it will rust and if you use this on any fruits please note that it may quickly patina.

I suddenly believe in fate lol
This was knife was totally designed for me!
What i really like is the weight and how it is balanced more to the blade itself, this way all i need to do is simply slide the knife on the food material and let the weight do the rest!
Awsome, majestic and beasty looking knife!

I work as a sous chef. Been using Shun for years, and decided to give Yoshihiro a try. I'm extremely impressed by the blade. It's surprisingly light for it's size, and holds a great edge. I've used it for everything from butchering fish and chickens to chopping herbs, and the edge hasn't knicked once. It comes fairly sharp out of the box, but some work with a oil or water stone gives it that extra bite. As other have said, you have to be sure to wipe and oil your blade. However, the rust eraser works great. Even used it on my Shun knives to great effect. Comfortable handle, and excellent profile. I'll be buying from Yoshihiro again.

Going to keep this short and to the point.
I am a professional chef and like good tools. I like high carbon knives and this thing is amazing. Cuts great, good weight, and it just looks stunning. To top it all off yoshihiro has amazing customer service. My knife didn't come with the complimentary knife oil and rust eraser. I contacted them via email today around 11:30. By 4:00 and 3 quick emails later they're sending me the stuff free of charge. I couldn't be happier. I'll certainly be buying from them again.

This is the sharpest knife I have ever used, and it's also nicely balanced. You're going to have to put a little effort in keeping it dry and oiled (I live in Florida, where things rust just sitting there), but if you keep a dry kitchen towel handy and use a little food-grade mineral oil to coat the blade, you'll be okay.

Purchased this knife as my latest edition to my knife kit. I work as a professional cook in fine dining, so over the past week this knife has gone through its paces, everything from shallots, fine herbs, fish fabrication, etc. Started using this as my go to knife, has yet to fail me. I recommend this knife for finer work but I did use it to break down some rib bones, knife did not chip at all or even dull. Out of the box this knife was sharper than any of the german knives I've spent hours hand sharpening. I did however polish slightly on a 6K stone, but not necessary. Overall construction of the knife is remarkable, do keep in mind though that this knife being blue steel does need more care than your typical stainless knife. Always wipe dry after cutting, otherwise the steel will discolor. While this does not change the functionality of the knife in any way, it takes a little time with a rust eraser to remove. This knife did take some getting used to, being familiar with curved german and french knives the rocking action I am used to had to be adjusted, nothing against the knife, just a different technique is necessary. If you are even slightly thinking about getting this knife, do it, pass on the overpriced machine made Shuns and get real Japanese craftsmanship.

Beautifully constructed. the edge needed a little touching up, but now its so sharp you can shave with it. stains easily, but if you just keep a damp towel and a dry towel on your station its just fine. always hone on a whetstone!

Very cool knife. Obviously if you're looking at this knife, you're thinking it's pretty bad***, being that it's the kiritsuke profile. Mine came very sharp out of the box, but I got it better with a little bit of work on a 6000 water stone. It's a beautiful blade, that's for sure, and the color is quite blue like what you see in the picture.

One thing to note is that this is a kiritsuke gyuto, which is double beveled, and not the traditional single-bevel kiritsuke. I prefer this double-beveled anyways as I'm used to german knives.

As this is a carbon steel knife, you definitely want to make sure you have an extra towel around to dry this between cutting, much like the sushi chef's do at your local Japanese restaurant. There's been a few occassions where I was cutting food and then moved over to the stove to do the cooking, came back and the knife is already showing some signs of rust, etc. Good thing there's a rust eraser with this kit. So yeah, make sure you wipe the knife down immediately. I don't mind though as this is a very nice knife. The length and flat belly chops things up with ease.

Also, there's no saya included with this knife, but you can easily look it up on the internet on how to make your own. I went to HD, picked up a piece of poplar, used a bandsaw to cut the wood about a 1/3 of the way through, then used a handheld trim router to route out the middle of the poplar so it just fit the blade, and glued/clamped the two pieces back together. Used a sander to smooth and angle the edges and face, drilled a hole for the saya's plug and then made a plug out of scrap wood.

Pick up this knife. Don't let the price scare you away, it's a pretty awesome blade.

I got the 10.5" version of this knife as a present from me to me on Fathers Day and it's essentially the only knife I use these days.
Sharp, light, beautiful to look at, and easy to work with, I use this knife for nearly all my cooking. The base has the heft and strength to cut through the densest foodstuffs and the point is delicate enough for paring work.
Prior to this I used an entire CuisinArt knife block to prepare a meal. Since I switched to this knife (and a magnetic knife bar) I have some extra counter space (important in a tiny NYC Kitchen). This is not a stainless steel knife, so it does need some TLC along the way but with regular care you shouldn't need another knife for years to come.

This is my fifth knife purchased from Yoshihiro, and as always I am so completely satisfied with my purchase. The Damascus construction is so stunning and superior to other blades I have seen or owned before. I have been cooking professionally for 17 years and never have I seen a better brand for specialty knives. Thanks again Yoshihiro!

Beautiful knife! Taking care of it is so easy too! They send you a free little bottle of Tsubaki Oil and a Rust Eraser to rub it down with. Holds an edge real well and honing brings it right back easy as pie. I rely on this knife every day in my kitchen and it doesn't let me down.